There are a lot of big benefits to buying fashion pieces (clothing, accessories including jewelry, and shoes) online – but you need to know exactly what you are doing or you are going to end up spending a lot more money (and a lot more time) ordering pieces that don’t fit, that aren’t what they appeared to be, and that you aren’t excited about when they get delivered.

In order to help make sure that doesn’t happen, we’ve put together a couple of quick tips and tricks to help you buy top-quality fashion pieces online at prices that are almost too good to be true!

If you’re after something more sophisticated then Ghurka is fast becoming a an outlet for not only stylish fashion, but they also cater for vintage and travel gifts for friends and your home.

Get concrete about your measurements
All of us are familiar with the fact that one manufacturer’s size “medium” is another manufacturers size “large” – or “small” – which is why you’re going to need to know your measurements when shopping online and not just the size that you usually squeeze into.

Almost all top-quality online fashion retailers are going to provide you with information about the actual size of their clothing, and you will be able to use your measurements to determine which size to order. Guess and Doll House are some of our go-to sites when it comes to Dresses and Tops/Bottoms and both offer extensive sizing guides. Sometimes Google shopping your merchant with the words “size guide” can be quicker eg. “Lulus Size Guide”

This is going to help you avoid ordering close online that do not fit as well as they should, and it’s going to make the purchasing process a lot easier – and a lot faster!

You can either get your hands on a sewing tape measure or visit a tailor or seamstress and have them measure you professionally. At most they are only going to charge you a couple of dollars, and you really use this information from here on out to get close that really fit from the Internet.

Pay close attention to reviewsOnline reviews have absolutely transformed the way that people shop online, and they are maybe our most precious resource when purchasing pieces of fashion from retailers on the Internet. An example is Styles For Less who has an awesome list of followers on Facebook where you can read up on customer reviews.

You are going to be able to use this inside information – information you simply never would have had access to before you became a

Boots are super important to get the right fit & reading reviews can really help

customer – to decide whether or not these clothes or shoes are worth purchasing in the first place, are going to fit you the way that they advertise, and as high quality as the promotional pictures appear.

Focus particularly on information in these reviews that focus on size, fit, and overall quality. Le Mystere is a great source, not only for lingerie, but they’re helpful fitting guides and fashionable products that update for each season.

We’ve found Necessary Clothing NYC have a great list of reviews and they back it up with a great range of clothing and shoes. Tidebuy also have a massive online following & checking out their Facebook page gives you great insight into how well this merchant is connected with it’s customers.

Zero in on their customer service departmentEven though we would love to tell you that shopping online has become absolutely effortless and complication free, that isn’t exactly the honest truth.

Sure, online ordering has become a lot more simple and a lot more straightforward – but you are still going to run into mistakes, missteps, and pieces that you aren’t happy with from time to time. The Union is one of our staff’s favorite retailers for the simplicity in marketing their products and how easy it is to make an order.

This is why you’ll want to be sure that you are only working with companies that have great customer service departments. These customer service departments should be friendly, easy to contact, and the part of a company that offers very friendly return policies. You do not want to get stuck with pieces of clothing that you do not want any longer, just because of mistakes made when ordering the clothing or mistakes made by the retailer themselves.

We’ve heard great things about Tommy Hilfiger and being an internationally recognized brand, they’re most likely keen to serve you as it’s in their best interest. Timberland is in the same boat – you see them all around the world, and they’ve been around for years.

For kids, try The Childrens Place. Moms are greeted by the latest fashion trends and everyday essentials for kids in sizes newborn to 14. The Childrens Place offers a wide assortment of quality clothing, shoes and accessories… all available at unmatched value.

Customer service can make or break the experience that you have with online retailers, and may be the only point of interaction that you have with these companies. Great customer service will have you coming back time and time again, while poor customer service may be reason enough to not order in the first place!

Accessorize!
Don’t forget your accessories..there’s so many to choose from and they can really make an outfit work. Both Fashionmia and Yes Style have a great range of accessories for every occasion.

Bohme are another great source when it comes to accessorizing with fashionable bags.

Online Fashion Shopping
Note that the current trend of online fashion retailers mostly bring a lot of their products in from China. It makes sense to sometimes browse the Chinese retailer sites direct. There’s many to choose from and after a rocky start, their reputation has gained some traction, especially amongst those that offer a strong social media presence.

Some of the bigger retailers include Nasty Dress, Fashionmia, Sammy Dress and Yes Style. There’s so many more and the list continues to grow. We find a new one almost every week! Prices are great, due to the competition, and considering China manufactures just about everything, there’s new products being released all of the time.

We try to source these products to make it easy for you to search them from a single site. Please make use of our search features to help you find your online fashion products and buy online – it’s so much easier

If you are a real shoe nut (and more and more of them are coming out of the woodwork each day), the odds are pretty good that you’ve been keeping apprised of all the latest shoe trends out there – and might even be trying to get ahead of the “next big thing” in the world of footwear.

Well, we aren’t going to be able to give you any inside information as to what people are going crazy about strapping to their feet in the future, but we are going to give you a bit of a peak into the latest trends in the world of footwear today.

If you’re just after a quick start on making a purchase on the current fashion trends shoes, then checkout ShoeDazzle. With a few simple questions, you’ll be presented with some excellent recommendations which are continually being updated to match the fashion season.

Shoes are ALWAYS changing

The important thing to remember is that the world of footwear is always evolving, always changing, and always innovating.

Even dress shoes (as “standard fare” as it gets in the world of footwear) are now being manufactured out of different materials, using different – yet still classically inspired – designs, and becoming more and more creative. GH Bass & Co are a great example of using classic designs, in modern styles and have stood the test of time and the same message can be applied to Timberland for men.

This is a reflection of the modern footwear trend in general, and something that you’re going to definitely have to get used to if you aren’t already.

Famous Footwear is a perfect example of an online retailer who stays with the trends and continually adds to their catalog of mens & womens shoes to buy online. They’re usually the first online shoe retailer we visit to check on the prices before comparing to others.

Current Trends Mens Shoes are getting Simpler while Women’s shoes are getting Crazier

As far as shoes for men are concerned, the trend here in 2016 (and for the foreseeable future) is definitely for these shoes to get simpler and simpler as far as design and aesthetics are concerned.

Men’s fashion is very minimalist these days, focusing instead on quality as opposed to loud designs that draw as much attention to them as possible (sometimes not in the best ways). Footwear for men very much reflects this kind of approach, which is why shoes for men have gotten so streamlined in just about every way possible.

Think of TOMS Shoes in their minimalist approach and you’ll understand where the shoes for men community is headed. And for the man who likes to venture outdoors, then you can’t go past the shoes at Cabela’s

Shoes for women, on the other hand, are definitely trending in the opposite direction.

These shoes are getting crazier and crazier (and we mean that in the best of ways), with some of the most inventive and creative shoes hitting the market in the spring of 2015. A lot of these shoes look like they belong on the catwalk as opposed to being sold in the Zappos shoes department, but it’s part of a women’s fashion trend that is focusing more on color, pop, and personality than anything else.

Take Lord & Taylor for example, they offer a great range of the latest footwear and fashion for women and it’s all done tastefully.

Shoes specifically designed for training remain very much the same as they always have, with one major exception – these shoes are now taking advantage of technical fabrics and unique engineering designed to squeeze every drop of performance out of athletes as possible.

These shoes have been designed to support athletes in just about every way imaginable, giving them the kind of perfect footfall that they need to produce a repeatable step so that they never have to worry about sacrificing any of their athleticism because of the shoes they have on their feet.

Supercomputers all over the world are working on new designs based off of biometric information collected from athletes around the globe, and that information is being used to engineer these shoes today.

A quick watch of one of our favorite athletic shoe retailers is Footlocker who are constantly updating their massive range of shoes. Keep an eye on them for great deals.

Kids shoes are still a lot of fun!

Of course, shoes for children remain some of the most adorable options in the footwear world, and likely always will.

These shoes are built around two key concepts – that they should be as much fun as they can be but they should also be as safe and as durable as humanly possible. After all, children are known to rip through multiple pairs of shoes just as quickly as they can, and you want to be sure that you’re getting the most bang for your buck.

Skechers is a well known shoe brand who make amazing kids shoes (as well as for adults!) and can stand the test of time and punishment. Almost every person on the planet has seen someone in Skechers shoes and their range continues to grow.